I Will Always Love You

"I Will Always Love You" is a song written and originally recorded in 1973 by American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton. Written as a farewell to her business partner and mentor Porter Wagoner, expressing Parton's decision to pursue a solo career, the country single was released in 1974. The song was a commercial success for Parton, twice reaching the top spot of the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart: first in June 1974, then again in October 1982, with a re-recording for The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas soundtrack.

Whitney Houston recorded a Pop-ballad arrangement of the song for the 1992 film The Bodyguard. Houston's version peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for a then-record-breaking 14 weeks. The single was certified diamond by the RIAA, making Houston's first diamond single, the third female artist who had both a diamond single and a diamond album, and becoming the best-selling single by a woman in the U.S. The song was a global success, topping the charts in almost all countries. With over 24 million copies sold worldwide, it became the best-selling single of all time by a female solo artist. It was also the world's best-selling single of 1992. Houston won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year and the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female in 1994 for "I Will Always Love You". Houston also won a Grammy Award for Album Of The Year for The Bodyguard - Original Soundtrack Album.

The song has been recorded by many other artists including Linda Ronstadt, John Doe, Amber Riley, LeAnn Rimes, and Sarah Washington, whose dance version reached number 12 on the UK Singles Chart. "I Will Always Love You" has been recognized by BMI for over ten million broadcast performances.